“I still think it brings chills to everyone,'' defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. “It’s something you never think could ever happen. It was definitely a tough time. I can’t imagine what it has been like for the families.

Ruslan Salei

“Life moves on and we need to appreciate all the good times we had with those guys. They were all unbelievable guys, on and off the ice, just great people. It’s just sad, the whole story.''

“That was a special three hours,'' Babcock said. “They’re great people and obviously, they love and miss their son. It’s hard (visiting them), but it was one of those things in life that was the right thing to do and I enjoyed doing it.''

While in Finland for the World Championships, Babcock took a photo of Salei's jersey hanging in Belarus' dressing room.

Stefan Liv

“That’s the way they honored him, and I thought that was spectacular,'' Babcock said.

“Anytime you’re talking about the kind of tragedy that took place last year, it’s obviously a scary thing. And yet those families, they move on and you have fond memories of those great people.''

Defenseman Jakub Kindl said players at Friday's skate were aware of the date.

“All the players spoke about it earlier today, we were reminded, knew it was a year today,'' Kindl said. “Obviously, it's a sad day.

“I've been reading the Czech papers. There were three Czech players in the crash (Jan Marek, Karel Rachunek, Josef Vasicek). It's sad.''